Introduction
In many ways, the human body can be thought of as a chemical processing plant. Chemicals are eaten, put through several procedures to make them more palatable, and then moved around the body to be used right away or stored. The chemicals that the body uses can be divided into two groups: macronutrients, which we consume daily in significant quantities, and micronutrients, which we only need in trace amounts. The three main macronutrient categories that living things need are proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. The majority of the calories we consume each day come from a type of nutrient called carbohydrates. We need about 50 to 60 per cent of our typical meal intake to be carbohydrates to get us through the day. They are the nutritional components that give us the energy we need to move, function, and carry out daily duties since they are swiftly absorbed and used up in the body. They are commonly referred to as sugar as well. There are two types of carbs: simple carbohydrates and complicated carbohydrates.
All living things require these naturally occurring chemical compounds as a source of energy. They are optically active polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones chemically speaking. Carbohydrates are generally represented by the formula CX (H2O) Y. Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen makes them up. Carbohydrates are one of the major categories of biomolecules. They account for the bulk of all biological substances in nature. They serve a multitude of purposes, including storing energy for the body. They also function as cell membrane elements that facilitate particular forms of intercellular communication. Carbohydrates are a structural component of many species, including bacterial cell walls, insect exoskeletons, and plant cellulose.
Importance of Carbohydrates
- In the form of glucose, carbohydrates aid in metabolism and serve as our body's main energy source.
- A disaccharide called cellulose makes up plant cells. Plant cellulose is also utilized to create papers, textiles, and wood for building materials.
- Carbohydrates are a crucial component of our diet because they are one of our body's main energy sources.
- Plants store the thousands of glucose units found in starch, a kind of energy.
- Under conditions of stress and physical exertion, the complex carbohydrate glycogen, which is stored in animal cells, decomposes into simple glucose molecules.
Carbohydrates and Their Relevance in Our Diet
Our bodies use carbohydrates for energy and as a good supply of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. They offer quick energy in the form of glucose, which is our body's primary energy source and can be stored. These carbs should be included in our diets in the form of whole grains, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, fibre, and bread. Due to the high level of diet consciousness today, individuals steer clear of foods high in carbohydrates because they are bad for our health. We should aim to eat meals high in fibre, such as fruits and vegetables, to help us overcome such issues. The best source of energy is a complex carbohydrate, which also has few calories.
The Primary Role of Carbohydrates in Living Things
- In our environment, the existence of living things depends on carbohydrates. They are every creature's main source of energy.
- Living things' genetic components (DNA and RNA) are essentially composed of sugar molecules like ribose and deoxyribose. A chain of sugar, phosphate, and sugar serves as the polymer's backbone and they combine to form a helical structure.
- Ribose sugar, a carbohydrate, is also the source of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the most important energy transport molecule in living things.
- Carbon from carbon dioxide is assimilated by green plants, resulting in organic molecules and carbohydrates that give the plants energy.
- In the soil, some carbohydrates encourage root elongation and seed germination.
Types of Carbohydrate
Simple Carbohydrate
Simple carbs, which can be found in the natural sugars in fruits, vegetables, milk, and honey, are the most fundamental type of carbohydrates. Due to their less complex structure, these carbohydrates are significantly easier to examine. Simple carbohydrates are the smallest and most basic of all the other types of carbohydrates since they are made up exclusively of monosaccharide units. Their smaller size is crucial to the gastrointestinal tract's metabolism and digestion.
Complex Carbohydrates
Our body needs complex carbs as a source of energy. They provide the steady energy our bodies require for going about our daily lives, exercising, and even sleeping. Complex carbs, which give us enduring energy, frequently consist of various monosaccharide units bonded together. Based on how they react to hydrolysis, complex carbohydrates are divided into different categories.
Simple Carbohydrates vs. Complex Carbohydrates
Processing has always been the fundamental distinction between simple and complicated carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates and are taken into the bloodstream more slowly.
Difference between Simple Carbohydrate and Complex Carbohydrate in Tabular Form
| Parameters of Comparison | Simple Carbohydrates | Complex Carbohydrates |
| Definition | The simplest chemical structure is seen in simple sugars, which are frequently just one or two sugars in number. | Starches made of longer saccharide networks with three or more integrated sugars are frequently referred to as polysaccharides. |
| Categories | Both mono- and disaccharides. | Starch |
| Levels of sweetness | There is sweetness here. | Less sweet than simple carbohydrates. |
| The blood's amount of glucose | Immediately raise blood glucose levels. | Slowly increase blood glucose levels. |
| Examples | Dairy products, several veggies, and fruits. | Lentils, kidney beans, oats, brown rice and wild rice. |
What is Simple Carbohydrate?
One or two sugar units make up simple carbohydrates, which are quickly absorbed and can leave you feeling fatigued, hungry, and like you need more sugar soon after eating. Recent research has shown that some simple carbohydrate diets can significantly raise blood sugar levels, which can cause insulin to be released. As a result, there may be a higher danger of gaining too much fat and increased appetite. Most simple carbohydrates are added sugars, which are comparatively low in nutritional value. They are considered "empty" calories. Soda, sweet breakfast cereals, candies, high fructose corn syrup, and other foods include simple carbs. Fruit is a simple carbohydrate that is a naturally occurring sugar that is rich in nutrients.
Simple sugars are simple carbohydrates. Sugars give food a sweet flavour and are found in a wide range of organic food sources, including fruits, vegetables, and milk. However, they do quickly raise blood glucose levels. Single sugars (monosaccharides) like fructose, glucose, and galactose and double sugars (disaccharides) like sucrose (table sugar), lactose, and maltose are two different types of sugars. Simple compounds comprised of one or two linked sugar molecules are known as simple carbohydrates, as their names suggest. In contrast to disaccharides, which are double sugar molecules like sucrose, maltose, and lactose, monosaccharides are single sugar molecules like glucose, fructose, and galactose that form the basis for those other carbohydrates.
Simple carbohydrates are made up of smaller sugar bands than complex carbs, which makes them easier for the body to digest and absorb. The majority of processed foods contain simple carbs, which are distinguished by their sweet flavour. Examples of simple carbohydrates include morning cereals, baked goods, table sugar, brown sugar, soda, chocolate bars, and candy. Not all kinds of simple carbohydrates are filtered, but it is best to avoid those that have undergone extensive processing and are depleted of their minerals. On the other hand, simple carbs are present in many complete meals, such as fruits, dairy products, and some vegetables. Simple carbohydrate sources found in whole foods have the advantage of being high in fibre, vitamins, and minerals, which help slow down the rate at which sugar is absorbed while also adding nutritional value.
Simple carbohydrates are composed primarily of monosaccharide units. They can be found in natural food sources such as milk, fruit, and vegetables. Simple sugars make meals sweeter. Simple carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels because they break down rapidly and absorb quickly. Monosaccharides and disaccharides are two types of simple carbohydrates. Monosaccharides include glucose, galactose, and fructose. The simple sugar glucose is carried throughout an animal's body by its blood. As part of the process of photosynthesis, plants produce glucose. Galactose can be found in milk in the form of lactose. Galactose is less sweet than glucose and fructose. The majority of fruit sugar, or fructose, is found in plants.
What is Complex Carbohydrate?
Whole meals like fruits and vegetables contain complex carbs, which are starchy molecules with fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Complex carbohydrates digest more slowly than simple carbohydrates because they contain fibre, giving the body energy for a longer length of time and helping to keep blood sugar levels stable. Additionally, complex carbohydrates make you feel full, which reduces your desire to overeat. Polysaccharides known as complex carbohydrates are composed of hundreds or thousands of monosaccharide units. They are sometimes referred to as polysaccharides. Complex carbs require more time for the body to process and digest.
They're frequently referred to as starchy carbs. Compared to simple carbs, these are easier to digest, last longer in the body, and have a higher vitamin and mineral content. Food’s high in complex carbs include vegetables, whole grains, corn, oats, brown rice, and especially potatoes. Green vegetables, corn, peas, lentils, beans, and whole grains are high in complex carbs. Starch is a simple source of complex carbohydrates that plants produce to store energy. Potatoes are a clear example of a plant with high starch content. The body uses glucose, which is a component of starch, to start breaking down the starch in potatoes.
However, whether or not complex carbohydrates continue to be a good choice depends on how they are consumed. For instance, grains are a sort of complex carbohydrate, but when they are turned into refined flour, the fibre and nutrient-rich bran and germ are removed, turning them into a type of simple carbohydrate. Cereals, muffins, crackers, bagels, cookies, and pastries are a few examples of refined carbohydrates.
Long, complex chains of sugar molecules make up complex polysaccharides. Peas, beans, whole grains, and vegetables are examples of foods that contain complex carbs. Both simple and complex carbohydrates are converted by the body into glucose (blood sugar), which is then used as fuel. Glucose is required by both the body's cells and the brain. Any extra glucose is converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles for later use. Foods with complex carbohydrates offer vitamins, minerals, and fibre that are crucial to one's health. Instead of processed or refined sugars, which lack the vitamins, minerals, and fibre found in complex carbs (starches), the majority of your daily intake of carbohydrates should come from naturally occurring sugars and complex carbohydrates (starches). Because they have very little to no nutritional value, refined sugars are frequently referred to as "empty calories".
Difference Between Simple Carbohydrate and Complex Carbohydrates In Points
- Fruit, dairy products, and some vegetables include simple carbohydrates, but whole grains including brown rice, wild rice, oatmeal, and whole grains, as well as beans and legumes like chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, and so on, contain complex carbohydrates.
- Simple carbohydrates can occasionally only have one or two sugar groups, but complex carbs normally have three or more. Simple carbohydrates have by far the simplest molecular structure. They are frequently referred to as starchy carbohydrates.
- Simple carbohydrates include monosaccharides and disaccharides, whereas complex carbohydrates include starch.
- While some sweetness is present in simple carbs, overall sweetness in complex carbohydrates is lower.
- Complex carbs raise blood glucose levels gradually compared to simple carbohydrates, which raise it immediately.
Conclusion
Because they contain more fibre than simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates dissolve more gradually. However, this does not indicate that complex carbohydrates are always better than simple carbohydrates.
The two types of carbohydrates that are eaten by animals are simple and complicated carbs. Starch and sugar are other names for carbohydrates. Carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms make up the biological molecule known as a carbohydrate, with hydrogen to oxygen atom ratio of 2:1. Simple and complex carbs differ primarily in how rapidly they are digested and absorbed by the body. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest. Adult men should consume no more than 70 g of sugar daily, while adult women should consume no more than 50 g.
References
- https://www.nature.com/articles/ismej2011212
- https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2DK2AEHaT1UC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=complex+carbohydrates&ots=KeZD5czULQ&sig=FWkktSQaZabg8Jsmx8XzjreuzXU
- https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US8727103
